To The Core

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a 2.50 GHz base clock and boosts up to 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus. The CPU package includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 25,292.

In To The Core, an idle genre title, the CPU's role is less about raw multi-threaded throughput and more about maintaining consistent frame delivery. The benchmark data shows this combination producing extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions, which suggests the i5-13400F is not the limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p High settings, the combo delivers 489 FPS average, while at 4K High it drops to 188 FPS — a pattern that points to the GPU becoming the primary constraint as resolution increases.

The processor's single-thread performance is notable for this genre. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,255 indicate solid per-core capability. In an idle game, where simulation ticks and UI updates often depend on single-thread responsiveness, this matters. The multi-threaded results — Cinebench R23 multi-core at 22,604 and Geekbench multi-core at 11,068 — show the CPU can handle background tasks without interfering with frame pacing.

Looking at the nearest rivals, the i5-13400F sits essentially at parity with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core 5 120 (deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (deltaPct 0.4). These are all close matches in average benchmark score, but the i5-13400F's desktop-oriented design with 10 physical cores gives it an edge in sustained workloads that mobile-derived chips may not match. The measured FPS in To The Core reflects a CPU that has ample headroom; even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 151 FPS average, which is far above playable thresholds for this genre.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers an average of 489 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings in To The Core.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25,292, which places it within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25,201) and within 0.3% of the Intel Core 5 120 (25,362) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25,365). The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25,284, a delta of 0.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, effective 28 Gbps.

Q: Does the combo scale well from 1080p to 4K?

A: Yes, but the scaling is not linear. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 489 at 1080p to 329 at 1440p and 188 at 4K. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 62% drop from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: This combination ranks 35th out of 2,991 tested combos in To The Core, placing it in the top 1.2% of all configurations.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS recorded is 322, with an average of 379 FPS and a maximum of 436 FPS.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data in To The Core reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound behavior as pixel count increases. Starting at 1080p, the combo already produces exceptionally high frame rates: 557 FPS at Low, 525 FPS at Medium, and 489 FPS at High. These numbers are so far beyond typical display refresh rates that the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck at this resolution — even the most demanding preset, Ultra, maintains 393 FPS.

Moving to 1440p, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show more GPU influence. Low settings deliver 448 FPS (a 20% drop from 1080p Low), Medium delivers 379 FPS (a 28% drop), and High delivers 329 FPS (a 33% drop). The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 265 FPS, which is a 33% reduction from its 1080p counterpart. These drops are consistent with the GPU doing more work per frame as resolution increases, but the i5-13400F still has enough headroom to keep feeding the RTX 5090 D.

At 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced. High settings produce 188 FPS, a 62% drop from 1080p High. Medium at 4K gives 217 FPS, a 59% drop from 1080p Medium. Low at 4K delivers 256 FPS, a 54% drop from 1080p Low. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 151 FPS, a 62% reduction from its 1080p result. These percentage drops are substantial and indicate that the GPU is now the dominant limiting factor. The RTX 5090 D is rendering roughly four times the pixels at 4K compared to 1080p, and the frame rate reductions reflect the increased pixel throughput demands.

The data suggests that between 1080p and 1440p, the system maintains a relatively flat performance curve — the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. Between 1440p and 4K, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint, with average FPS dropping by 43% to 62% depending on the preset. This is typical behavior for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range desktop CPU: at lower resolutions, the CPU has enough headroom to saturate the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU's pixel processing limits overall performance.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 35th out of 2,991 tested combinations in To The Core. This places the combo in the top 1.2% of all configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the overall performance across all measured settings and resolutions, indicating that this pairing delivers near-top-tier results.

The high rank is notable given the CPU's position in the broader market. The i5-13400F sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, which is solid but not elite. The RTX 5090 D, however, ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and its performance in To The Core is clearly the dominant contributor to the combo's high standing. The data shows that the GPU's massive compute resources — 21,760 shading units, 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance, and 32 GB of VRAM — are what push this combo into the top tier.

Compared to other combos that might pair the same GPU with a higher-end CPU, this ranking suggests the i5-13400F does not significantly hold back the RTX 5090 D in To The Core. The game's idle genre mechanics likely do not stress multi-threaded CPU performance as heavily as other titles, which allows the 10-core processor to keep pace. The rank of 35 out of 2,991 also implies that there are 34 combinations that outperform this one, but the vast majority of tested configurations — 2,956 of them — fall below this pairing.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB202 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with a transistor density of 122.9 million per mm². The GPU runs at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution rendering.

In To The Core, the GPU's role is straightforward: it renders every frame, and its performance scales directly with resolution and settings. The RTX 5090 D's compute specifications — 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, 176 ROPs, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores — translate into exceptional throughput. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s indicate the GPU can fill frames at very high rates, which explains why even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains a 151 FPS average.

The GPU's 32 GB of VRAM is far more than any current game requires, and To The Core is no exception. The data does not indicate any VRAM-related performance drops, even at 4K Ultra. The memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming and frame buffer operations do not bottleneck the GPU's compute units. The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct 1.1), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct -1.6), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (deltaPct -2.1), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (deltaPct -2.4). These comparisons show the RTX 5090 D outperforming its closest competitors by 1.1% to 2.4% in average benchmark score, with an overall average of 77,712.

The GPU's power requirements are substantial — a 575 W TDP with a suggested 950 W PSU — but the measured FPS data shows that the RTX 5090 D delivers on its specifications. In To The Core, the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions, and its capabilities are more than sufficient for this title's demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are uniformly high. Low settings deliver an average of 557 FPS. Medium settings produce 525 FPS average, with a minimum of 446 and a maximum of 604. High settings yield 489 FPS average. Ultra settings give 393 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is never challenged — even the most demanding preset stays well above 300 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's workload. Low settings average 448 FPS. Medium settings average 379 FPS, with a minimum of 322 and a maximum of 436. High settings average 329 FPS. Ultra settings average 265 FPS. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings — 322 at 1440p and 446 at 1080p — suggest that frame pacing remains stable even during demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the combo still delivers high frame rates. Low settings average 256 FPS. Medium settings average 217 FPS, with a minimum of 184 and a maximum of 249. High settings average 188 FPS. Ultra settings average 151 FPS. These 4K results are remarkable for an idle game, where typical hardware would struggle to reach these levels. The fact that the combo maintains above 150 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrates the RTX 5090 D's raw rendering power.

The pattern across resolutions and settings is consistent: each step up in resolution or settings reduces average FPS, but the reductions are proportional and predictable. From Low to Ultra at 1080p, the drop is from 557 to 393 FPS, a 29% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 448 to 265 FPS, a 41% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 256 to 151 FPS, a 41% reduction. This consistency suggests that the settings presets scale evenly, and the GPU handles each tier of graphical complexity without unexpected performance cliffs.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. At 1080p, all presets deliver far more FPS than any current monitor can display — even Ultra at 393 FPS exceeds 360 Hz refresh rate displays. For a 1080p user, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation because it provides the best visual quality without any playability concerns. The 393 FPS average at 1080p Ultra is still more than sufficient for even the highest-refresh-rate gaming monitors.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts slightly. High settings deliver 329 FPS average, which is above the 240 Hz threshold for high-refresh monitors. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 265 FPS, still above 240 Hz. Both are viable, but High settings offer a 24% FPS increase over Ultra (329 vs. 265) with only a modest visual quality reduction. For 1440p users with 240 Hz displays, High is the sweet spot. For those with 165 Hz or 144 Hz displays, Ultra at 265 FPS is the better choice for maximum visual fidelity.

At 4K, the data suggests a trade-off. Ultra settings deliver 151 FPS average, which is above 144 Hz but below 240 Hz. High settings at 4K produce 188 FPS, which comfortably exceeds 144 Hz and approaches 165 Hz thresholds. Medium settings at 4K give 217 FPS, which is above 165 Hz but below 240 Hz. For 4K users with 144 Hz displays, Ultra is the best choice — it provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding the display's refresh rate. For 4K users with 165 Hz or higher refresh displays, High settings at 188 FPS are the better option, as they stay above the display's refresh rate while offering better visuals than Medium.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset is never recommended for this combo. The performance gains from Low are not meaningful — at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 164 FPS (557 vs. 393), but both are far beyond display capabilities. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 105 FPS (256 vs. 151), but again, both are playable. The Medium preset serves as a balanced middle ground, with the 4K Medium result of 217 FPS being particularly strong. However, given the GPU's capabilities, there is no scenario in To The Core where this combo needs to compromise on settings to achieve playable frame rates. The best experience is always the highest preset that stays above the display's refresh rate, which for most users will be Ultra at 1080p or 1440p, and High or Ultra at 4K depending on the monitor's capabilities.